It was not a good weekend for Dave Merchant...

Everyone's picks from this weekend are in and have been rolled into the results below. Winners of match-ups are in bold.

Lincoln at Chelsea
Tecumseh at Dexter
Ypsilanti at Adrian
Jefferson at Milan
Dearborn at Huron
Romulus at Belleville
Monroe at Saline
Pioneer at Bedford
Gabriel Richard at Ecorse
Addison at Manchester

You have to admit, though, he sort of had it coming in picking all those upsets (he had Lincoln, Dexter, Jefferson, Dearborn, Ecorse, Monroe and Addison). It's one thing to have one, two, or even three, but it's quite another to have a majority of your picks go against the grain. He wagered in a big way, probably in an effort to jump ahead of Mike and myself. After all, only last week he had just recovered from being in dead last and shuffled his way into a three-way tie for last.

In a way it's worth a nod and a slap on the back, because it took some guts. And in the process he did manage to be the solitary predictor of Monroe over Saline and Ecorse over Gabriel Richard.

Also notable is how important home field advantage seemed to be this week. Who knows if Ecorse or Bedford would have been able to accomplish the same feats without the comfort of their home field. Only two teams didn't hold up their advantage this week, and only one of those was surprising. Saline dropped the ball in mistakes yet again to put their season in a presumed downward spiral. Meanwhile, Pioneer's loss could possibly be the reality check the Pioneers need to become even more solid than they were in weeks prior. Every team needs a taste of losing to go on to become real winners.

But anyway, enough of that... the standings of myself and my fellow sports writers are below. Mike is still in first, although his margin over me slipped by a game this week (thanks, Huron, I owe it all to you for waking up).

1. Mike Larson--This week: 6-4 Overall: 41-9
2. Jana Miller--This week: 7-3 Overall: 39-11
3. Ed Patino--This week: 6-4 Overall: 36-14
4. Don Richter--This week: 5-5 Overall: 35-15
5. Dave Merchant--This week: 4-6 Overall: 34-16

Romulus verses Belleville

This game use to be between two football teams that were among the best in the Mega at one time. Belleville has more wins in the 1990s in football than any other team in the Ann Arbor News coverage area (now they have one win in nearly three years). Romulus use to have a team that people came to love. At one time their entire offensive line (nicknamed people movers) went to Eastern Michigan University on football scholarships.

Now the Tigers are 1-3 coming off a disappointing loss to Jackson Northwest and Romulus is 0-4. Both teams are in the Western Wayne Athletic Conference (WWAC). It could be a good game, it could be high scoring. Coach Bob LaPointe has been coaching for over 40 years so he has seen it all. It went through the good times with Belleville and has been there for the bad times.

This game will not be like the ones that Ian Gold or Cullen Jenkins played on. I can bet the college scouts will not be pouring in for this one. But in typical high school fashion in will be exciting and who knows maybe it will start a trend. Maybe a new Freddie Russell will come from it or maybe it will just be an old rival renewed between two (now basketball powerhouses).

Either way look for me on the sidelines on Friday night in Belleville and give a shout out if you see me. My prediction is 24-17 Belleville. Who knows I could be wrong but look for the Tigers to pull it out sometime in the third quarter.

Look for my story on the Internet at www.heritage.com Friday night and see if I am correct in my pick.

More thoughts on the week

Hopefully my fellow sports reporters won't mind me posting twice this week, but since my Manchester-Addison preview was quite long. I just wanted to add a couple more thoughts on the week that was in sports.

The Manchester varsity volleyball team continues to impress. After sweeping Napoleon, the Flying Dutch are 12-6-2 overall and playing their best volleyball since the 2007 season. Meanwhile, the JV volleyball team extended its Cascades winning streak to 16 after dumping Napoleon, so the future is certainly bright in Manchester.

Minnesota Vikings 27, Detroit Lions 13. Hate to say I told you so, but "I told you so." Not that the Vikings beating the Lions was surprising (how surprising can it be to beat a team that's lost 19 in a row). However, most of my friends and some of my co-workers (they know who) kept talking about how the Lions would end the skid against my Vikings, and taunted the signing of Brett Favre. Well, Favre threw two touchdown passes (at age 39) and Adrian Peterson was his usual beast. And don't forget the defense, which shut down the Lions in the second half and prevented a comeback. I could gloat more, but I will give the Lions this...they showed flashes. They are playing lots of young players at key positions, and for the most part gave the Vikings a tough game. Keep the faith Lions fans...just not when you play in Minnesota later this year, haha.

That's all for this week. Looking forward to Adrian College's homecoming this weekend and hopefully getting my car back from the shop (had some electric problems last night). See you next week.

Battle Stations in Manchester

Good day to all my followers on this first official Wednesday of fall. Although right now it still feels like summer. Hey, I won't complain...it can stay like this until May, when it warms up more.

The race for the Cascades Conference football championship really heats up Friday when the Manchester varsity football team hosts the Addison Panthers. The Dutchmen (4-0, 3-0 Cascades) and Addison (3-1, 3-0 Cascades) are the only two with perfect league records so far, meaning the winner is in the driver's seat. Needless to say, it should be an electric atmosphere at Manchester High School this week.

It's kind of funny how things work out. Before I took my job in Manchester, I worked at The Daily Telegram in Adrian, often covering Addison (we covered all of Lenawee County). Being on both sides of the rivalry, I know quite a bit about the teams. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Manchester's program (obviously), Wes Gall and his coaching staff. I also respect Addison and hold their coach, Mark Beougher in high esteem. So this should be a fun one for me to cover.

Since 2000, the teams have met 10 times. Both have five wins, and both have taken turns dominating the other. From 2003-05, the Dutchmen beat the Panthers four straight times, including an 18-13 victory in the second round of the 2005 state playoffs. Addison snapped that with a 22-7 victory at Manchester in 2006 (a game I covered for the Telegram), and has since added two more wins, including last year's 18-6 Panthers win at Addison. On a side note, either the Dutchmen or Addison has won the Cascades title each year since 2003 (last year, they shared the crown along with Grass Lake).

If the Dutchmen are to solve the Panthers this time, they'll have to neutralize Addison's running game. Last week, Addison rolled up a whopping 508 yards on the ground in a victory over Hanover-Horton. Dylan Curtis led the way with 181 yards on 14 carries with three touchdowns, while Kyle Conrad had 14 carries for 113 yards. Manchester's front seven on defense, led by defensive tackles Dylan Neff and Ben Stachnik and linebackers Chris Margraves and Brent Schriber will be the x-factor in slowing down the Panthers.

Manchester has the weapons on offense to counter. Logan Zigila has been lighting it up at quarterback, and he has plenty of weapons in receivers Corwin and Clayton Every, Jimmy Hamilton and the emerging Josh Blades. On the bench are young studs Austin Deacons and Brandon Casey. All of them will test Addison's secondary.

Time for the intangibles, which I believe favors Manchester. The Dutchmen should be motivated by three straight losses to Addison, especially the seniors. Playing at home with a chance to grab the conference lead can be another edge.

PREDICTION: Technically, I should abstain, since I'm covering the game. For the sake of our weekly pigskin picks...I went with Manchester.

Closing in on elite

I remember one of the very first conversations I head with Pioneer head football coach Jeremy Gold.
He made an effort to drive one point home, and that point was that he wanted to lead the Pioneer football program to a new level. He wanted the program to be great. He wanted the program to be elite.
"We want to be one of the elite teams in the state of Michigan," he told me.
That quote stuck with me in a funny way.
It stuck with me in a kind of Those-who-stay-will-be-champions kind of way.
I thought that it could be the kind of mantra that makes or breaks a coach, depending on what happened on the field.
For now, it looks like the Pioneers are going to make it work. It looks like they could one day be one of those elite teams whose pedigree is coveted so dearly.
After four games, the Pioneers are undefeated, and the team shows no signs of slowing down.
And their wins have come in all sorts of different ways.
In Week 1 they went to a neutral sight as an underdog, and defeated Inkster.
In Week 2 they played a feisty Dexter team and did what good teams do against inferior opponents, they crushed them. They refused slip into the common pitfall of playing down to a less talented counterpart.
In Week 3 they downed conference rival Saline without problem, and then, most recently, on Thursday they took on Saginaw Arthur Hill.
The Pioneers trailed the Arthur Hill at halftime by 10 points, and then, faced with that adversity, how did they respond?
They put up 48 unanswered points to seal the win.
The team may not be elite yet, but I think they are on their way.

Pigskin Picks are closing in!

It's getting exciting for everyone but Mike and me. After this weekend's stint of games, Dave, Ed and Don are all tied up in third place... just a few games behind me. Mike is still in the lead, and if I wasn't a permanently mushy girl who picks Saline *constantly*, then we'd be closer to being tied for first. Alas, we are not. But I'm ok with it.

So the point totals stand as thus... along with the results of this week's match-ups. The winners are in bold and records are below.

Gabriel Richard vs. Detroit Loyola
Saginaw Arthur Hill vs. Ann Arbor Pioneer
Ann Arbor Huron vs. Monroe *Sick upset!!
Belleville vs. Jackson Northwest
Dexter vs. Ypsilanti Lincoln *closer than expected
Adrian vs. Chelsea *was really the toss-up game of the week
Ypsilanti vs. Tecumseh
Milan vs. Grosse Ile
Vandercook Lake vs. Manchester
Bedford vs. Saline. *not a good home opener, at all.

PIGSKIN STANDINGS
1. Mike Larson: Last week --> 8-2 Overall --> 35-5
2. Jana Miller: Last week --> 7-3 Overall --> 32-8
3. Dave Merchant: Last week --> 8-2 Overall --> 30-10
4. Ed Patino: Last week --> 7-3 Overall --> 30-10
5. Don Richter: Last week --> 6-4 Overall --> 30-10

Another Week, Just a Day or so Late

Hey everyone, I'm back with another look at the week that was...and is...in the world of sports. Normally, this would've been posted two days ago, but with production training, covering games, meetings and social life, things got a little busy. But fear not, my loyal followers, I'm here now.

What more can I say right now about the Manchester varsity football team this year? Did I not say that once the offense got into a rhythm, they would catch fire? Well, the Dutchmen were on fire last week at Napoleon, scoring five touchdowns on their first five possessions en route to a 41-0 victory. The Pirates might've been outmanned, but still, what the Dutchmen did was impressive. The first team offense, lead by quarterback Logan Zigila, receivers Corwin and Clayton Every, Jimmy Hamilton and Josh Blades, running back D.J. Hone and a rock-solid offensive line, is comparable to anyone in the county. The second team looked good to, with Blades at quarterback (5-of-10 passing for about 90 yards), Brandon Casey and Johnny Woollams at receiver. And the defense, led by Ben Stachnik and Dylan Neff up front, and Chris Margraves at linebacker, has been on top of its game all season.

Looking ahead, the Dutchmen take a 3-0 record into tonight's game against Vandercook Lake. Last year, both teams came into the game 3-0, but Manchester scored 40 points in the first half and drilled the Jayhawks 56-7. Vandy will be out for revenge, but the Dutchmen are too strong and are hitting their stride. Really, I only see one team that can beat the Dutchmen...and that's Addison next week. Mind you, I said CAN beat the Dutchmen, not WILL beat the Dutchmen.

Congratulations to Manchester varsity volleyball coach Sarah Andrews, who is expecting her first child in the next couple of weeks. Her team is certainly making this an extra happy time, as the Dutch have eclipsed last year's win total and sit at 2-0 in the Cascades after a stunning three-game sweep on the road against Napoleon. That, along with last week's victory over Michigan Center, has Manchester with two victories over last year's second and third place teams in the Cascades. Do they have enough to take a shot at 25-time reigning league champ Hanover-Horton. That remains to be seen, but Oct. 6 will be an interesting day in volleyball.

Legendary Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell, who earlier this month was diagnosed with incurable cancer, was honored by the team Wednesday at Comerica Park. Here is a guy, 91 years young, who knows what's coming, yet is still living his life to the fullest. Ernie has been one of Detroit's biggest supporters, not just the team but the city. When you listen to him talk, like during his address to the crowd Wednesday, you can't help but think back to growing up listing to the Tigers on WJR or whatever radio station you got. On behalf of Tigers fans, the people of Michigan and everyone who grew up listening to you, Godspeed, best wishes and thank you for everything.

In her blog, Jana made mention of the church sign in Saline that reads "Lions zero and 16, God undefeated. Who deserves your Sunday worship?" You got to admit, that's clever (and I took a picture of it on my phone during lunch the other day). I called 4-12 for the Lions, though they didn't provide much hope by getting waxed at New Orleans. I still stand by my prediction, but win No. 1 won't come this week. Brett Farve has made a career of carving up the Lions, and how can you trust the Lions' defense against Adrian Peterson? Sorry Lions says, not this week. By the way...DID I MENTION THAT I'M A MINNESOTA FAN AND WILL BE ROOTING FOR THE VIKINGS.

So long for now. See you next week.

Religion and sports, friend or foe?

Hey kids... me again...

So on my way to work this afternoon (work hours are a bit weird for me on Fridays), I saw a church in Saline on Michigan Avenue with a very intriguing quote. Typically their advertising board is saved for scripture quotes or blessings or prayers for church members. This time it doesn't.

Instead it says something like... Lions 0-16, Jesus undefeated. So who really deserves your devotion on Sundays?

I mean that isn't what it says exactly. What they have is very witty and awesome. But it did get me to thinking.... do sports and religion clash?

In the long drawn out history of sports, there have always been certain aspects of sports that disagree with the fundamentals of religion. For one, the Romans became very open-minded to different practices and faiths right around the same time the Colosseum was the hottest thing since winged sandals.

And even today, sports like football and hockey have a major violent component that can't be avoided. That isn't to say there aren't religious athletes in sports, because a lot of them actually are. Why else do most NFL victory dances in the end zone include a Catholic cross of the chest or a finger to the sky, as if to say, "Thanks, God. Thanks for giving me this touchdown." In all honesty, I don't think God is the one pulling for your game. I'm pretty sure He doesn't have a favorite NFL team (although if He did it would probably be the Patriots, let's be honest).

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in sports and develop a certain level of devotion-like behavior. They're a way for human beings to fulfill their psychological need to belong. It's one of the five rungs of human needs... right up there with sustenance, safety, and love. People like to be a part of something, and sports is one of the most common ways to do that in a collective community sense. Which is why, week after week, the whole of Milan, Chelsea, Saline, etc. show up to the high school football games, even if they don't have a player on the field. They go because the whole town goes. And the middle schoolers go to make out under the bleachers. It's just science.

But it's interesting to me that religion and sports could be frenemies in several ways, just due to the dedication sport requires and the attention it can take away from other focuses. I've never really thought about the fact that Sunday worship and NFL football conflict... probably because I don't go to church every Sunday and I don't watch NFL football. (It isn't a sport thing, it's a league thing. I never got into professional sports. I'm college sports all the way.) But for a lot of people, I can see this really being an issue... possibly even a source of dispute amongst families.

What they have in common is the development of trust and relationships with teammates. Athletes know about hard work, working for something greater than yourself, and putting others first. So that lines up okay. It's the hitting and rivalries with opponents that aren't always necessarily the kindliest of actions.

I think in a lot of ways today, sports and religion are forced to get along because they have no other choice. They're like mother-in-laws. They both think they know best how to take care of so and so, and they'll indirectly affect as much as they can to get their way. If the world we live in today places a major importance on sports (which it does), then religion adapts. That's the one thing about religions that are universal from faith to faith. Humans evolve, and religion evolves with us. If religion didn't evolve, I'd still be living at home and waiting for a pretty bounty to be placed on my "dowry."

As society and its rules change, so do the faiths we put our hearts and minds into. And instead, faith finds its way into the various common aspects we come to enjoy. There's room for everyone, sports included. Plus, I'm pretty sure the Lions winning would deserve a major nod upstairs.

Life is one giant Blog

Time to Blog. While I guess it is my time to add something to our sports blog. I have to say things are interesting out in Saline. It isn’t quite the same as the office we had on Main Street in Belleville and the drive is a lot more.

I guess it will be better once things get situated and back to normal. What with school and everything I know have one child in sixth grade at one school and one in third grade at another school. I want to say happy birthday to my son, Spencer who will be eight tomorrow. I can’t believe he is already eight it seems like not that long ago I was writing at the News-Herald and had to get a week off during football season to see the birth and be with my wife.

My how times flies and what a different direction life takes us in. The same company and now I am 45 miles from home and writing for Belleville and Ypsilanti schools.

This week in football should be good. I have Lincoln against Dexter which after last week’s performance by the Splitters should be another win. I also have Belleville against Jackson Northwest which should by all account be a win for the Tigers who really got beaten and beaten bad Fordson last week (one of the worst loses I have ever seen).

Willow Run is not playing up to par so I am not sure about them and Detroit Allen Academy. It is a 50-50 chance for either. I would like to see Ypsilanti win against Tecumseh but they are struggling with number and have yet to crack a win yet.

Good luck teams and I hope no one gets hurt and the weather stays nice. Man I love the fall!

Lions and Tigers

The Detroit Lions are going to have a rough season. I don't think anyone out there would argue with that. I knew they were going to struggle and they were not going to be very good this season but after listening to them for about ten minutes on the radio on Sunday afternoon I realized that this is the same old Lions. Losing that bad so early only meant one thing and that was it was time to turn them off and listen to the Tigers.

The Tigers have been a good story all year. They are in the hunt and have been in control for some time in AL Central. After coming from behind in the bottom of the ninth yesterday they still hold a 5 1/2 game lead over the Twins. I really look forward to them making the playoffs and maybe doing something they haven't done since 1984.

I remember those days with Chet Lemon, Kirk Gibson, Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker and Jack Morris. It has been fun to watch they all season and I hope to keep seeing them as much as possible.

Wolverines of all sizes

This morning I walked around downtown AA with a few friends taking in one of my favorite football cities on gameday. There is just something about Ann Arbor when the Wolverines are playing in the early fall. I'm so glad it's football season again.
We even drove past Pioneer High, where last night the Pioneers defeated rival Saline. The parking lot was jam packed with tailgaters. The smells of grilling meats drifted all over the lot and the cracking sounds canned beverages could be heard over the din of the Wolverine faithful. They talked about the upcoming game against Notre Dame. They talked about Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson. They talked all things maize and blue. It felt like there was nowhere else in the world where you'd find people this excited about football. But there was, and it happened to be just a few miles away at Ann Arbor Huron High.
Today also marked the opening game for a different group of Wolverines. The Washtenaw Jr. Wolverines started today as well, and the enthusiasm for the fans and players was just as great as that of their Big Ten counterparts. In fact, the only thing that was smaller were the uniforms.
If you ever want to see a group of youngsters learn the game of football while having a great time, check out the organization's website and get yourself to a game.
So to all of those donning the winged helmet this season, big or small, young or old, good luck. And GO BLUE!

Oh, shut up Mike

The following is a transcript of the texts that passed between myself and Mike Larson last night:

8:16 PM Mike Larson: "Bedford up 7-0 at half. Whats the Pioneer score?"
8:21 PM Jana Miller: "oh pff. you and your picks. pioneer up 19-7 at the half. 4 saline OL out with injury."
8:27 PM Mike Larson: "OMG this game is so ugly. I think there are 7 fumbles between the two teams. And Bedford (the town) stinks. I'm getting eaten alive by mosquitoes."
9:07 PM Jana Miller: "insert inappropriate joke here and reference to bad pioneer/saline penalties here"
9:40 PM Jana Miller: "score? Pioneer up 36-14 in fourth. Chelsea killed Ypsi."
9:42 PM Mike Larson: "28-21 bedford final =) "
9:47 PM Jana Miller: "boo you. you just passed me up, you whore."
2:35PM Mike Larson: "Lincoln beat tecumseh 58-46. Defense was, apparently, not a priority."

I chose not to respond to the final text, because frankly, it insulted me. It insulted me because it put me, not one, but two games behind Mike. Granted, I saw this coming. Reading post below, I knew Pioneer and Airport would beat Saline and Milan. But I felt like I couldn't stand the sidelines without getting crap from people if I'd picked against my teams. And my Friday night sanity counted for more than going 8-2 instead of 6-4. So in the end, my 11-0 week was followed by an ugly 6-4 week.

QED it was not a good week for me, and as I predicted Mike shuffled his way past me. Good for him. He deserves it after being the one person to predict that Lincoln would beat Tecumseh. I'm rooting for Mike or myself. And I will do everything in my power to ensure that it happens. Lots of football left this year. In retrospect, it's really not so bad. Because it didn't hurt me so much as to drop me below Don's score. So the standings are as thus:

Mike Larson: This week 9-1 Overall 27-3
Jana Miller: This week 6-4 Overall 25-5
Don Richter: This week 8-2 Overall 24-6
Ed Patino: This week 7-3 Overall 23-7
Dave Merchant: This week 7-3 Overall 22-8

SIDENOTE: These stats are assuming that Ecorse defeated Willow Run. I haven't been able to find results for that anywhere, unfortunately. If the most shocking happened and Willow Run actually won, then the standings would only shift by placing Ed and Dave in a tie.

The pigskin picks will shuffle!

So right now I'm winning. I'm 19-1 and Mike is 18-2, which puts us in the lead by a fairly comfortable margin. HOWEVER, this week's schedule happens to include several of the biggest match-ups of the season, which means there's going to be a lot of shuffling, because Mike and I pretty much picked opposites.

The biggest games will be Saline vs. Pioneer (I'll give you one guess as to who we both picked), Milan vs. Airport and Huron vs. Bedford. Those three games are the ones that left the staff the most split. I think everyone unanimously picked Manchester, Ecorse (except Dave, bc its one of his coverage schools... and maybe he lied about how good or bad Willow Run might be), Adrian, Fordson, Chelsea, Tecumseh (minus Mike, who picked Lincoln as his upset this week), and Gabriel Richard. So it really comes down to the three aforementioned games.

For my part, I picked Saline over Pioneer and Milan over Airport for one reason alone. They're my teams. It's like... "you're my boy, blue!" I just have to. They haven't steered me wrong yet, and I figure I'll keep picking them until they fail me. Then I'll jump ship, as it were. If I wasn't the Saline and Milan writer, I would have been more likely to select Airport and Pioneer both. But I am, so I'm not.

As far as Bedford and Huron goes, I'm not entirely convinced of Mike's strategy. He seems to think that Huron hasn't run up the scores well enough against terrible teams to succeed against a farmboyesque Bedford team. I happen to think that Huron will be in Bedford's head, which means a lot at the high school level. So I have Huron. PLUS, Huron was my upset choice in week one against Chelsea... it's my lone error, but they DID almost pull it off and I sort of think that should count for something. But we'll see. 'twill be exciting!!

Stay tuned... I'll be back Sunday with the records and standings. Wish me luck!

High school sports

This is the time of the year when the leaves start to turn colors, the children go back to school (yeah) and the coaches start talking about all the high school sports action. Okay those are three of my favorite things and not necessarily in that order. I am looking at some interesting sport match-ups this season for my teams

Belleville is now in the Western Wayne Athletic Conference or (WWAC) as we like to abbreviate it and so far for the football team that has meant one win against Redford Union. After watching them for a couple years and not seeing or writing about one win I would have taken a win over anyone just so I could write a different style of article or column about the Tigers. Granted this week they will have to play Dearborn Fordson which is an old Mega Red foe and they will not be as kind as RU was or should I say they will bring a lot more talent to the table and it is in Tractor country on Friday night. Hope to see you there and to see if Belleville will get win number two.
Now Lincoln and Ypsi are both in the Southeast Conference (SEC) this season. Ypsi will have some tough opponents like Chelsea at home this week and they will be facing some of those opponents in swimming, tennis and a lot of what we call the "country club" sports. I hope they will be able to work there way up the ladder in those sports but I am sure they will be taking some lumps for the first couple years.

So far Ypsi quarterback Terrance Moore and Lincoln quarterback Andrew Dillon both look good this season now if they can help get some wins for their club that would be awesome.
Willow Run is independent this season and I can't wait for the AD and school to come out with some information about where they will play in the future. I have been trying for months to find this out so whenever they are ready give me a call and we can do a story.

College Football on My Mind

Here it is Wednesday, Sept. 9, and that mean I've back for another round of blogging with my fellow Benchwarmers. So it's 9/9/09...or should I say 09/09/09. Remember 10 years ago when we were all scared of Y2K? Or that Sept. 9, 1999 (9/9/99) would flip over to 0/0/00 and time would stop? Well, here it is 2009 and we're all still here, so I guess we panicked for no reason.

On to this week's blog. Lots of interesting things have gone down in the sports world the past week, so here's a little recap.

Oregon vs. Boise State kicked off the college football season with a bang, literally thanks to Oregon running back LaGarrette Blount's punch to a Boise State player's face after the game. Blount was essentially kicked off the team, as he was suspended for the season. Yes, the Boise State player was talking smack, but cold-cocking him was not the best response. Maybe Blount and the Ducks should've spent less time talking themseleves BEFORE the game and concentrated on winning. Oregon said it "owed" Boise for a loss in 2008, but the Ducks looked terrible in last Thursday's 19-8 loss. From what I saw of the game, neither team looked that great offensively.

A good weekend for Michigan and Michigan State fans with big victories in their respective openers Saturday. Granted, U-M beat Western and MSU beat a 1-AA school, but still a good way to kick off a new year. Michigan was impressive, so maybe Rich Rodriguez offense is coming along. But we'll see if they can keep it up against Notre Dame, a team a little better than Western. Meanwhile, a bold prediction...Michigan State will win at least nine games this year. The only two threats I see to the Spartans will be at Wisconsin and against Penn State. MSU doesn't play the hated Buckeyes this year.

The Manchester varsity football team looked way more impressive in its 30-13 victory over Michigan Center than it did on opening night. While QB Logan Zigila and WR Corwin Every get most of the attention, and deservedly so, the Dutchmen have a ton of depth. Jimmy Hamilton is a strong No. 2 receiver, and converted JV quarterback Josh Blades have provided another receiving weapon. The offensive line looked stronger in opening holes for D.J. Hone, and the defense continued its strong play.

Manchester fans will be excited to know that 2008 graduate Nick Ross is a starter on the Adrian College football team this season. Ross saw increased time on the offensive line down the stretch in his freshman season last year, and impressed coaches enough to where he's a starter as a sophomore. As for the Bulldogs' opener, a tough loss to OAC power Capital, 31-21. If you don't know who Capital is, they routinely challenge Division III behemoth Mount Union in the OAC. Adrian hung with them for most of the night, but didn't put it all together at the same time. I believe my Bulldogs (yes, I'm an Adrian grad) will regroup Saturday at Defiance (Ohio). Call it Adrian 24, Defiance 10.

Finally, so how is the Manchester varsity volleyball team already at eight victories when it won nine total last year. For starters, the Dutch are playing in more tournaments this year, meaning more matches (they're 8-4-2 as we speak, last year they finished 9-13-9). They're off to a good start under new coach Sarah Andrews, but coaching isn't the big reason (former coach Mike Mininger was a good coach for the program the past three years). Look no farther than a healthier lineup. Last year, the Dutch had so many injuries to key players, it killed their season. If they stay healthy, the Dutch can look like they did in 2007 when it challenged Hanover-Horton for the Cascades crown.

That's all for now. See you next week

Big players out there

I'm either getting shorter and smaller in my old age, or kids today are simply gigantic. I think it's a little of both.

Last Thursday I covered the Dexter-Ann Arbor Pioneer football game. I was amazed at the size of the Pioneers' offensive linemen. A lot of small college football teams would be lucky to have the size and talent the Ann Arbor front five possess. From left tackle to right tackle, the Pioneers start with senior tackle Devin Smith (6-5, 290), then senior guard Esham Farha (6-2, 265), senior center Chris Biggs (6-1, 230), a right guard rotation of senior Ryan Richmond (6-2, 260) and junior Brandon Hammond (6-3, 270) and tackle senior Jimmy Spaly (6-4, 275). Whoa!

That's a lot of beef. It's because of that O-line I think Pioneer can have one of its best seasons in years. Add a bevy of speedy, shifty skill players led by U-M recruit wide receiver Ricardo Miller (6-3, 210), a fast, hard-hitting defense and solid kicking and the Pioneers will be trouble for any opponent this season.

This Friday's match-up with unbeaten Saline and MSU-bound quarterback Joe Boisture should go a long way toward determining the Southeastern Conference Red Division champion.

When I was in high school back in the 1980s, our biggest offensive lineman was 6-2, 235. We thought he was huge! Heck, we had a guy from my high school team play at Michigan and when he was a senior he was a 6-4, 220 pound defensive end/offensive tackle. Pioneer's Ricardo Miller, a wide receiver, is about his same size. How times and sizes change, huh?

Go Tigers, Go

I have to say I was impressed with the Belleville Tigers football team on Friday night. I have been covering them for several years and had yet to see a win since I have been at the Belleville View (almost three years).
I am glad they finally snapped that streak against Redford Union and defeated the Panthers. I only hope that they will be able to continue the good fortune and have luck against Dearborn Fordson on the road on Friday night.
Maybe Willow Run will jump into the win column on the road on Friday at 4 p.m. at Ecorse. Come on out and support your local teams.

Massive fail, but hopeful prospects...

So in light of the busy weekend, I wasn't able to do my super double awesome post over the weekend to this glorious Benchwarmers blog. Originally the plan was that I would be the queen of weekend posts. And now that it's Monday night (but it's a holiday so maybe it counts), I don't feel guilty summarizing the best moments of the weekend in list form. So I'm going to. Read on, fans, read on...

1. UofM won a football game. Scary, I know. But sometimes even a slow squirrel finds an acorn. I kid, I kid... we looked pretty good and I have decent faith (read my post below... 8-4, it could happen, baby).

2. US Open tennis rocks. I watched it all weekend long. And then I went outside all inspired and hit tennis balls on the court outside my door. I hurt today. I hurt real bad. But out of that I got to see Melanie Oudin (a 17-year-old newbie) take out three seeded Russians in a row, including Dementieva, Sharapova, and today's win against Svetlana... at least I think that was her name. I should know this, but honestly all the Russian names sound same to me. Like Alena and Cordonbleuva. And interestingly enough, she was ranked like 230th on the tour going in, and has won all of her match upsets after losing the first set. She's something like 1-9 in first sets and 13-2 in second and thirds. So keep that fight, peeps. It pays off for Bulldogs like her (not Chelsea, Georgia... she's from GA).

Also, side note... Roddick lost. And he lost to another American John Isner... who happens to be the most colossal tennis player pretty much ever. The man is 6'9". He's a beast. It was an awesome five-set match with lots and lots of tiebreakers and a sort of sad ending. And while it was fun to watch, I almost wish it hadn't happened... because Isner has no longevity in tourneys like this yet, and he lost in the next round to a player that Roddick would have annihilated. So now for the first time in the history of the US Open, there is no man from the United States in the quarterfinals. But favorites like Soderling and Federer are still in, and coincidentally play each other like tomorrow or something. Stay tuned.

3. Saline won against Adrian in a crazy as all chaos double overtime. Lots of Maple mistakes on special teams and lots of quarterback swaps for the Hornets. Weird momentum shifts and people got their money's worth. Go them.

4. I hung all my art. This isn't particularly sports related, but hey, it felt like hard work while I was doing it and it made me feel a general sigh of relief to know that my new apartment looks like a real home now. Go me and the UHaul truck I drove in on.

It would be nice if I had a fifth, because the best writers in the world can always either narrow it down to three, think of five or even stretch it to 10. I am not one of those writers. I'm the lazy one who worked all day on a holiday and now wants to go read her book in bed. And she will. (The Road by Cormac McCarthy... Pulitzer Prize winner... I recommend it... being made into a movie... good stuff...)


OH WAIT! I'VE THOUGHT OF IT!

NUMBER 5! I'M WINNING THE PIGSKIN PICKS!
Yes, you heard right. Of all these sillies listed below... (you may have read some of their posts)... I am winning in football picks after Week 2. And I will toot my horn really loudly, because who knows how long this bliss will last? Right now I'm 19-1 over the first two weeks because I went 11-0 this week. But I shouldn't gloat because A) Mike Larson is close behind at 18-2, and B) some of the biggest rivalry games are going on this week and it will make or break my record. Wish me luck!

Tigers could win

Greetings Belleville football fans. For the first time in nearly three years I really like the Tigers chances of winning on Friday night at home against Redford Union.
Back in the day Belleville never would have played these guys in the Mega or in a crossover.
In talking with Coach Bob LaPointe of the Belleville and with all he told me I like the chances the team has. They have a strong defense this year and if they can gain over a 200 or more all purpose yards in the game maybe they can break this record.
I also hope that Coach LaPointe remembers my name is Dave and not John. He seemed to forget that last week when I spoke to him on Sunday. I guess I can forgive him since he is a coaching legend and he has seen more than his share of sports reporters in his day. I am just happy he talks to me every week since I have been covering him for three years now and a few years prior to that as well.

Good Luck Tigers! Bring home a win.

A whole new world...and a brand new season

Well here we are, one week into the fall sports season, and the 2009-10 school year will be starting up next week for all the high schoolers. This year also marks a whopping 10 years since I was a high school senior (Class of 00 represent!!). Where does the time go? Without trying to sound older than I actually am, blogging wasn't as frequent when I was in school. Actually, I don't know if it existed at all, but I do know that this blogging thing is new to me. So please bare with.

On to a look back at the first week that was in fall sports, starting with the Manchester-Clinton football game. The "Battle of M-52" was certainly that...a battle. Manchester's 20-14 double-overtime victory was proof that nothing is a given after the kickoff. The Dutchmen were coming off a Division 6 regional championship game appearence while Clinton (5-5 last year, lost in the first round) was undermanned. Yet hear were the Redskins, holding a 6-0 lead most of the night and surviving a late drive to go to overtime tied 6-6. The overtime was punch and counterpunch, until a big rush by the Manchester defensive line forced a fumble to end the game.

One lesson from the game. The Dutchmen have the potential to strike at any time on offense. The Logan Zigila-to-Corwin Every combination could be one of the deadliest in the county this year. Zigila, a senior, has enjoyed plenty of success in his career, posting a 25-4-1 record as a starting quarterback (varsity and JV). Every will give defensive coordinators playing to think about with his speed and jumping ability. Both are early favorites to make our All-Heritage West Football team.

The offense took a while to get going against Clinton, but that can be expected for a first game. The wet field didn't help matters either. But give it plenty of time, and the Dutchmen will be high octane soon enough. And once their running game finds its stride...look out Cascades Conference!!

Manchester volleyball and cross country are off and running (no pun intended, cross country fans). Both teams have new coaches in Sarah Andrews (volleyball) and Elissa Weidmayer. The volleyball squad is looking to rebound after a tough 9-13-9 campaign last year. Injuries curtailed their season in 2008, but a new conditioning program that Andrews has implimented should help the Dutch avoid that. There is plenty of talent with Tracy Schaible, Stephanie Ball, Halley Cook, but an early surprise has been Brooke Fuller, a senior newcomer who lead the team in kills in its first two tournaments. I'll predict that the Dutch are a dark horse in the Cascades race.

Weidmayer has some impressive athletes to replace on the cross country team, particularly James and William Heslip on the boys side and Fuller on the girls team. The girls team should still be decent with Liz and Jackie Timoszyk leading the charge. The sisters where state qualifiers a year ago and will provide valuable experience to the Dutch this season.

Speaking of the Heslips...they will be featured in our final Manchester Scholar Athlete 2009 series. The original plan to run their feature Thursday fell through due to the opening week of fall sports and the county football preview section. I didn't forget about them, so look for the feature in the Sept. 10 edition of The Manchester Enterprise. On that note, congratulations to all the student-athletes recognized over the summer for their excellence on the field and in the classroom.

That's all for now. See you next week.

First week of grid season exciting

Well the first week of the high school football season has come and gone. I must say, it was an interesting opening session. Obviously, AA Pioneer's win over Inkster was absolutely thrilling. The Pioneers could have the makings of a special team this season. It'll be fun to watch their progress as they delve into the bulk of their very difficult schedule this year.

Manchester and Clinton, one of the state's best rivalries, didn't disappoint, either. A double OT masterpiece -- what a way to begin the season, huh? That rivalry is what high school football is all about.

Finally, I can't close this blog entry without mentioning Dexter's 43-0 blowout victory over Garden City last Friday night. Whoa! Who were those young men in the winged helmets? The Dreadnaughts' total destruction of the visiting Cougars makes this Thursday's match-up at AA Pioneer all the more intriguing.